In this book, there is a boy named Shorty who is a Japanese American that was sent to an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor. There was a lot of other people who were Japanese Americans that were also sent to the camps as well, which were very harsh. The conditions were harsh by having long hot and hard days that they did not know what was going to happen. Shorty and his father thought that they were going to fight these conditions of the dessert and build a baseball diamond and form a league to have for the people to have enlightenment during these hard times. The story tells not only about the story of the camp and fun with baseball but, to help others learn about dignity and self respect. After looking at this book, I thought it was a great story for children to learn about and see what it was really like in the internment camps after the Pearl Harbor attack. They can see what the time period was about and how other suffered from it. Since the moral of the story is to gain a positive and greater insight about bad situations, it helps children to see how they can do the same. The picture book has a realistic element by expressing them through pictures and the text. I would overall rate the book with a 5 out of 5 stars because it tells a great historical story about a child during the times of Pear harbor and young readers can understand the perspective more as it is focused on a child. The text and pictures are very realistic as picture books should be. The children can also learn a moral that is proposed in the story and carry it out with them in any situation.
Title: Baseball Saved Us
Author: Ken Mochizuki
Illustrator: Dom Lee
Publishing Date: March 1st 1993
Publisher: Lee and Low Books
ISBN:1880000199
I have heard great things about this book. This is definitely a great example of historical fiction, and students will find it very interesting especially because of its specific story and deep meaning.
ReplyDeleteI have heard so much about this book, and your review makes me want to read it even more. I like the idea that the book is telling the story of a serious historical event, but portrays that event through something kids can relate to: baseball. Very interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite historical fiction picture books. It is so sincere because of the age and perspective of the main character. This episode in American history is rarely covered in history class because it is embarrassing, but it is important to remember this especially in light of the dilemma we face right now with Syrian refugees.
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